"American suspect in Aruba to be freed" November 26, 2011|By Associated Press
ORANJESTAD, Aruba - A US businessman suspected in the August disappearance and presumed death of his traveling companion in Aruba must be released from jail next week and will be free to leave the island, a judge ruled yesterday.
Gary Giordano, a 50-year-old employment agency owner from Gaithersburg, Md., is scheduled to be freed Tuesday without any conditions.
He has spent nearly four months in custody while investigators have sought more time to gather and evaluate evidence in the death of 35-year-old Robyn Gardner, of Frederick, Md. Gardner is presumed dead, but her body has not been found.
Prosecutor Taco Stein said he has appealed the judge’s decision.
“It’s a setback,’’ he said. “We feel that he is still a flight risk… . The investigation is ongoing. We need him.’’
Stein said prosecutors need more time to analyze information from Giordano’s laptop and iPad.
He said that if Giordano is freed and leaves Aruba, they would request his extradition from the United States if they could find sufficient evidence to persuade a judge to order him rearrested.
“We are determined to get to the truth of this,’’ Stein said.
Giordano cried when he heard the judge’s ruling, which was issued during a private hearing, said his attorney, Chris Lejuez.
“He would not believe that after four months, someone is finally willing to give him the benefit of the doubt,’’ Lejuez said.
Prosecutors said they still consider Giordano a suspect, but Lejuez said his client is innocent.
“The prosecution has conducted a large number of investigations, with nonrelevant results,’’ he said. “It is time to give someone the benefit of the doubt, especially when nothing is found to concretely accuse him.’’
Giordano has maintained that Gardner was swept out to sea while snorkeling on Aug. 2.
In October, a judge had ruled that Giordano would remain in custody for 30 more days while prosecutors continued to investigate the case.
“I’m just going to … hope the FBI has something on him,’’ Gardner’s boyfriend, Richard Forester of Rockville, Md., said yesterday after hearing of the judge’s ruling.
The FBI had searched Giordano’s home in Maryland following his detention in Aruba.
The FBI did not immediately comment yesterday.
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"Man denies involvement in disappearance" December 02, 2011|By Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Defiant and combative, an American businessman suspected in the presumed death of his traveling companion in Aruba said yesterday that he had nothing to do with her disappearance.
Appearing on ABC’s “Good Morning America,’’ Gary Giordano defended his actions in the wake of Robyn Gardner’s disappearance, criticized his former attorney, and said the Aruban economy was driven by cocaine and human trafficking.
Later yesterday, the chief Aruban prosecutor said Giordano remains the chief suspect in Gardner’s death and that the investigation remains active.
The interview was Giordano’s first since he was released Tuesday from an Aruban jail. He flew Wednesday to the United States, and after he landed, an appeals court ruled that prosecutors lacked sufficient evidence to continue holding him. Later Wednesday, the 50-year-old employment services company owner was reunited with his three sons.
In an 11-minute interview with “Good Morning America’’ anchor Robin Roberts, Giordano, 50, refused to detail what happened to Gardner on Aug. 2. That was the last day she was seen alive, and he said he has told that story to investigators “50, 60 times.’’ He has said she was swept out to sea while snorkeling with him. Her body has not been found.
Asked whether he had anything to do with Gardner’s disappearance, Giordano said, “absolutely not.’’
But he said he does have regrets.
“A person that I cared about, a companion … has disappeared on my watch,’’ he said.
The case recalled that of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway, who disappeared in May 2005 on a high school graduation trip to Aruba. Her body also was never found and the prime suspect, Joran van der Sloot, was detained for months before being released for lack of evidence. He is now facing trial in the death of a woman in Peru.
Related: A Slooty AmeriKan MSM
Also see: Chandra Levy Coda
Reminds me a little of that, too.
Aruban Solicitor General Taco Stein said authorities would ask for Giordano’s extradition as soon as they are ready to bring charges.
But with no direct evidence that a crime was even committed, there is no guarantee that charges will be filed.
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